The Three of Us
by Rennie75
Summary: SPOILERS - This story takes place within episode 2x21 City of Blood so read at your own risk! This isn't a "bonus scene" story but more of "bonus thoughts" as it is me putting a Team Arrow and Olicity spin on the episode to make myself happy! FINAL CHAPTER NOW UP - Felicity's POV (Words).
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Alone (Laurel's POV)**

**SPOILER WARNING - T**his takes place during episode 2x21 City of Blood (US airdate of 4/30/14). There are references and spoilers throughout so read at your own risk!

**AN** – This was originally posted as Chapter 7 of my series A Woman of Distinction. Feel free to skip ahead to Oliver's POV in Chapter 2 if you read this one already! If you haven't, pls understand that this is from Laurel's POV and I don't think she would bash herself as I would so it's fairly nice! :) Don't worry though, I always include a Team Arrow and Olicity spin!

**DISCLAIMER** – Standard legal jargon still in place as I write without ownership or profit!

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I asked for a moment alone with Ollie and both Felicity and Mr. Diggle left us - I needed to reconnect, I needed to reach him, I needed him to understand that I know, that I am still part of him. I wasn't lying when I said I know him, I do. Despite Sara, despite the Arrow, I do still feel like I know _**him**_. Ollie is more like the dream man I fell in love with, the man I thought would be my husband, the father of my children. I was in love with an image of a future Ollie though as he wasn't that man then, when he slept with my sister, when he disappeared on the Gambit.

He is that man now though - he's a hero and I love him. Despite Sara, despite the Arrow, I do still love him. I love the man he has become, the man I _**always**_ saw in him. What I didn't see, couldn't have foreseen was what it would take for him to become that man. Once upon a time, I thought I was enough...once upon a time, I didn't know about Sara, about them.

It broke my heart to see that Ollie and Sara had a connection that left me out. It broke my heart to see him turn to her, see her turn to him when both of them shut me out. That was when I hit rock bottom - that's also when I started to reclaim my life though. I took control again and I did what was necessary.

I even learned to accept them. She is my sister, and, well, he's my Ollie. I was happy for them, really, I was. Now though, I'm not sure I can accept this. I don't know if I can accept their partnership, I'm not sure I can be happy for him when I'm all alone.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that." _

That's what Ollie said when they left to fight Slade, when they left to save Starling City. It was always my dream to make a difference in the city - a dream Ollie had mocked as he was the consummate trust fund kid playing at life. He wanted no responsibilities and he had no ambition but I had enough for the both of us, wanted it enough for the both of us. I saw our entire future, I planned our entire future...he has become the man I wanted but he did it without me.

I asked for a moment alone with Ollie but now I realize I was never really alone with him, I doubt Sara was either and maybe that's why she left. It's the three of them now, together. "_Partners"_ was the word Mr. Diggle used when I went to them and I can see that now. I watched as they planned in half sentences, as they moved as a single unit, as they stared looks that spoke volumes, as they shared personal space and small touches – it was a connection that again left me out.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that." _

Ollie's words keep replaying in my head. He said he wanted to keep me safe, needed me to be safe, and my heart sped up at his declaration until I realized what was left unsaid. He didn't say that he needed _**me**_. He made it clear that he needs them though, he didn't consider doing this without them – they are part of who he is now.

I would like to think I could accept their partnership and maybe I could it that is all it was but there's more. There's her - Felicity Smoak. I remember being drunk at Verdant one night that now seems like forever ago. I had gone there hoping to see Ollie and he came when Thea called as I knew he would. However, she was there too. I had thought I saw her first but now I have to wonder if he didn't already know she was there. I even joked that night that I could be his secretary if he got rid of her. I didn't understand the connection then but I do now and I know he won't ever leave her.

It's not just the Team, the salvation of the city that calls to him. It's her too. He may not know it yet, they may not acknowledge it yet but it's there. The three of them are bonded together but there are other bonds holding Oliver to Felicity, holding her to him.

There is love there. Beyond the physical, the emotional, it's love that just is. True, pure, steadfast. It's acceptance, it's trust, it's support, it's intimacy. Often when I talk to Ollie he looks past me or down to the ground and he does that sometimes with Mr. Diggle too – it's just who Ollie is. At least it's who I thought he was but anytime Felicity steps in front of him he looks into her eyes. Even if he glances briefly away his eyes are always drawn back to her. They actually gaze into one's eyes like characters in a stupid romantic movie. As much as I wanted to be that person for him, I'm not. They have a connection that leaves me out.

He has become the man I always knew he could be but it's not the same as I dreamed. I could have had a future with my Ollie - I could have been part of his efforts to save the city, part of his duty to make a difference. I can't have a future with this Oliver though, she's already part of him and he won't ever let go. I can help the Arrow, I can remain friends with Ollie but I'm not on his team and I'm not his partner. She is.

They have each other and I'm alone.


	2. Chapter 2 - Second Location (Oliver)

**Chapter 2 – Second location (Oliver's POV)**

_**SPOILER ALERT - This chapter also stays in 2x21 City of Blood episode so read at your own risk! **_

**AN** - Thank you all who put up with the Laurel chapter despite not liking her! Clearly I'm not a Laurel fan either but I'm not above using her for my own Olicity and Team Arrow purposes! ;) This chapter is Oliver's POV and I'm working on Diggle and Felicity so hopefully those will make up for Laurel!

**AN2** – My absolutely amazing beta (Mic Riddy) is remaining somewhat spoiler free so you don't have the advantage of her assistance and input on this particular story! All mistakes are always mine but there may be more than usual so I'll apologize now! :)

**DISCLAIMER** – Nope, still not mine!

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I told them the second location was a precaution, a place that I could go to be alone and that was the truth. I have gone there to be alone but that was basically only at the beginning when I still felt I was doing this by myself, still felt I needed to do this by myself. We weren't partners then and I needed to keep them at arm's length. I got sloppy quickly though and the foundry, the _**lair**_, became home.

I remember once when Barry was here and I told Felicity the Mansion was crowded and I had come to the lair to be alone. She didn't question me, she just squeezed my arm as she and Barry cleared out. I could have gone to the second location then but I didn't. The second location was just a location but the lair was and is home.

It became my home because it's where they are. I had lost sight of them recently. I took them for granted. I focused on Sara, Slade, my family, Roy. It didn't make them leave though - they continued to be who they are, they continued to be the best part of me.

Diggle is the soldier - honorable, dedicated, well-trained. He has never killed just to kill but he's never backed down from a fight either. Without fail, he stands up for what is right regardless of the cost to him. He has always been one of the good guys. He helps me be one of the good guys too. I know he has his own ghosts, his own past but he's my brother now and that is all that matters. I also know he would still be a good guy without me but I couldn't be the Arrow without him.

Felicity is - even now, I can't really describe Felicity or her place in my life. Even Diggle questioned why I continued to bring her in at the beginning, I couldn't answer then and I can't answer now. Felicity is, well, she definitely isn't cocktail waitress material and she's definitely more than IT. She is my partner. It's that simple and that complicated. I still try to keep Felicity at arm's length, literally if nothing else. Just like with Diggle though, I know she would still be Felicity without me but I couldn't be the Arrow without her. There is a difference though - Diggle is a trained soldier but Felicity isn't. She is more vulnerable, she's in danger because she's with me but I still don't push her away. I respect her choice to stay, to be in danger at least that's what I tell her, tell them but I know it's more than that. She's more than that. Even if I can't explain, Felicity is...Felicity is _**my girl**_, she's the best part of me. I told her she would always have me and I meant that.

I wasn't really surprised when they showed up together at the second location – I think I was even expecting them on some level. I told them Slade had won. I told them that I was giving up. I was ready to do that but only while I was separated from them. I know now that that is why I went there. They have become part of me but I needed to go to Slade as only me, alone, without them. I would gladly give my life for them but that's the easy choice. It's choosing to continue living, to continue being better if they aren't with me that's so much harder to face. That is why I found myself at the second location instead of at Mom's funeral.

Even there though, I still wasn't alone, not really as they are part of me now and I knew they wouldn't approve of my surrender. Diggle would fear Slade wouldn't stop with my death, he would want us to finish the job and protect the city. Felicity would simply believe we could do it - make us, make me believe we could.

I returned to the lair with them as I couldn't resist the comfort, the friendship they always offer. I still wasn't ready to fight yet though - I wasn't ready to risk them. I know they can make it without me but I also know I can't make it without them. It was easier to surrender, to wallow in my guilt, in my shame.

The dart and Laurel were unexpected, extreme even for us but this situation is extreme. I don't blame them for either. I know Laurel approached them and I know they were just trying to force me to listen.

The Laurel in the lair was the one I knew before the drugs and alcohol, before the Gambit. She was pushing through others to get her own way, determined to do whatever it took, convinced she was right and ready to fight for what she believed in. In the past, she was ambitious, determined enough for the both of us. I didn't argue with her then and I didn't argue with her now, not even when she said she knows me. I just let her talk. After everything I put her through in the past she deserved that, she deserves more than that but it's all I have to give her.

Her intel was something new, something concrete, an edge and it gave me an excuse to fight. I know Laurel took that as a victory for herself. She took it to mean I agreed with her, gave in for her, and possibly even more as she had even asked Felicity and Diggle to leave to talk just to me. I didn't tell her that it had nothing to do with her.

Felicity and Diggle could claim the victory though – I did it for them and because of them. I decided to try again, to fight Slade instead of surrendering. I know Laurel doesn't understand _Team Arrow_ and she doesn't understand me now but they understand. That is what matters to me.

To fight Slade, I do need to protect the ones I love and that will always include Laurel. She is an important part of my past, she gave me hope while I was in hell, and she's part of my family just as Thea, Walter, and Sara are. To be better, to be the Arrow, I need Felicity and Diggle. I didn't argue the difference with Laurel – there was no time and no reason for her to understand.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that." _

I said that to Laurel but I said it for Felicity and Diggle. We leave a lot unsaid but I needed them to hear, to know. I wouldn't be the Arrow without them and I can't fight Slade without them either. We are partners and I don't want to take that for granted again.

Despite everything that has happened lately, I felt at home while we planned our strategy. I felt at peace when we stood together in the lair. Felicity and Diggle got intel behind the scenes and I remained our public face but we worked together, we worked as one like we used to do before I lost focus.

It really did start with the three of us - before them I was the Vigilante but with their help I became the Arrow. It's time for me to be the man I want to be, time to be the hero they see. I still believe they would be fine without me and I still believe I wouldn't be fine without them but for them, I will take that risk. I will fight for them, for us.

It is the three of us who make the Arrow. Now it's all or nothing – us versus Slade.


	3. Chapter 3 - Bonds (Diggle)

**Chapter 3 – Bonds (Diggle's POV)**

**SPOILER WARNING -** Still in the same 2x21 time frame so spoilers abound but this chapter is from Diggle's POV. Felicity's chapter should be up on Monday or Tuesday and will wrap up this little story!

**AN **– I don't want to lose the meaning in repetition but I still have to say thank you for all who read, review, fave and/or follow! Your support is essential, priceless, and never taken for granted! THANK YOU!

**AN2** – I also repeat this one frequently but still doesn't make it less true: Mic Riddy is the best beta ever! :) Yep, she's back and no longer spoiler free!

**DISCLAIMER**– Hmmm, unfortunately I must report that I still do NOT own Arrow…or Oliver Queen!

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It was hard to see Felicity cry at Moira's funeral but I had to smile as only Felicity could cry and insult the deceased at the same time. I had to call her on the Oliver thing even though I usually let those things pass. It's easier to just let them be…whatever it is they are. I didn't understand it when Oliver first went to her (continuously) at the beginning and I don't understand them now. That doesn't mean I trust in it though, that I don't trust in them.

There are bonds that every soldier knows and respects. When your life depends upon others, not in some vague sense of humanity's struggle for civilization but in a very concrete "you've got my back, I've got yours or we die" way, you respect those bonds. You count on those bonds and you are grateful for them. I lost that when I left service and I never thought to have it again. Logically, I should have found those bonds again with Amanda Waller and ARGUS as Lyla did but it was no longer familiar to me. I had already changed and had become part of something else.

So instead of being part of the shiny ARGUS machine, I am a partner on _Team Arrow_ and our headquarters are hidden in the basement of a nightclub. It is home though and they are family. I found a brother who should have been broken by the torture he suffered or should have remained a spoiled trust fund brat. Instead he's one of the strongest people I know and he's hell bent on saving Starling City even at the cost of his own life. I also gained a sister who should have been a cocktail waitress or should have remained an idealistic IT genius. Instead she's one of the best people I know and she's the one who reminds us what we are fighting for and inspires us to be better.

I couldn't have seen them coming, couldn't have prepared for the changes in my life, in me since I met them but I wouldn't change any of it. They've made me a better soldier, a better man. They have changed too though and I think we are all better for doing this together. It hasn't always been easy and we have all fought, struggled alone and together, but we have stayed together. We aren't just better individually now though, we are a Team. The Arrow ismore than just the sum of our parts.

We say we are partners but that doesn't really explain our bonds, at least not to others. It would be hard to explain even to fellow soldiers I knew in the past but it is nearly impossible to explain to civilians. It's also hard to bring anyone on to our Team. We tried with Roy, with Sara, and even now Laurel is trying to get closer to Oliver. Clearly she's not as impressed by _Team Arrow_ though as she asked Felicity and I to leave but she still feels that she has a connection to him. I don't think she realizes that we could have stopped her, but desperate times call for desperate measures so Felicity and I allowed her entrance.

Laurel's intel was helpful though and allowed us to plan and work together as a Team again. Felicity finally got to be the interrogator and it was fun to sit back and watch her do that part. Definitely not a cocktail waitress, definitely not just IT. She wouldn't have done that a year ago, I'm not sure she would have done it before Sara but now she can. Felicity isn't a trained fighter and Oliver and I have had more than one discussion about her safety but she is our partner. It would be easy to find another soldier to fight with us as Slade has done but it would be impossible to replace Felicity and we simply couldn't do this without her. I was worried when she appeared to be giving up on Oliver but she became Felicity again when we found him and we were together again.

That was a good thing as I'm not sure I could have reached him on my own. It would have been just like ARGUS' suicide squad as Oliver would have sacrificed his life for the mission. He may not know why he ended up at that second location but I do. Oliver only sees himself as a survivor, a killer – he still fights the guilt, the sorrow of his time on the Island and recent events just brought that back. He still doesn't see himself as the hero we see but Oliver does see us. I sometimes think he sees us as better than we see ourselves as well. We all believe in one another more than we believe in ourselves. I know he separated from us in order to reach the point where he could surrender. He needed to feel he was alone to get that desperate.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that."_

I know Laurel didn't understand Oliver's response but I did, Felicity did. I think we both needed to hear his words. Oliver had again run away from us, not to the Island this time but to a secret second location we weren't even aware of ourselves. I had thought the time for secrets between us had passed so this development alarmed me and I know it bothered Felicity too. Logically though, the three of us are together almost twenty four hours a day so I knew he hadn't been there often. I didn't understand why he wouldn't have told us. It took some thought but I finally realized he considered that part of the past. None of us speak much of the past.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that."_

When I left service and entered the private security world, I would never have predicted that I would be standing in a lair ready to battle for the city with Oliver and Felicity as my partners. I've had my doubts along the way and some even recently but I don't think doubt makes you weak any more than fear does. 'Courage isn't the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.'

Together we have changed and become better. Together we are making a difference in this city. Together, we can fight Slade and we can win. Slade may have an army of soldiers but our bonds remain strong and we are more than the sum of our parts.

It is the three of us who make the Arrow. It's all or nothing now - us versus Slade.


	4. Chapter 4 - Words (Felicity)

**Chapter 4 - Words (Felicity's POV)**

**SPOILER WARNING -** Still in the same 2x21 time frame so spoilers abound but this chapter is from Felicity's POV.

**AN** – This will bring this little character study to an end but thank you all for taking the journey with me! I truly appreciate everyone's support but always a special shout-out for the support of my beta (thank you Mic)! BTW, as the season remains dark I've struggled to find any fluff so I would love some inspiration if anyone has an idea to share! I prefer to work within the episodes but I'm kinda desperate so any fluffy ideas would be appreciated! :)

**DISCLAIMER** – Despite my continued wishing, I do not own CW's Arrow but until they force me to stop I will continue to play!

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I felt like a fool crying in the Mansion even if only John paid any attention to me. I also felt like a fool insulting Moira Queen when I had just attended her funeral. I had no excuse for either but I ignored John's explanation that I was crying for Oliver. Oliver wasn't there for me to cry for…I know that wasn't what John meant though even if he didn't explain further.

Neither John nor Oliver is the best communicator but I usually ramble enough for all of us. That's assuming you are counting the quantity of words and not the quality. I avoid the big stuff with them too unless John has given me an aspirin that is. We leave a lot left unspoken on Team Arrow and because of that I sometimes have doubts. I don't doubt our cause or them but I doubt myself – whether or not I can do this, whether or not they actually need me. I know my place is IT and to be an encouraging light but very recently that's been John and there's something freeing, comforting about that.

We all bring something unique and special to the Team but we aren't locked into just those roles. We've all grown and changed and I think we've all gotten better. Oliver has clearly come the furthest as you can just compare him to Sara to see those differences in philosophy and strategy. Some of the changes are more subtle though. He now makes eye contact more easily – I have always tried to force the contact by standing right in front of him and at first he would always look over my shoulder with only brief glances at my face but now he looks at me with only brief glances away. I love that he lets me in, lets us in really. I may be the one pushing but John is always there with us.

John has changed too. I know he still sees himself as a soldier and sometimes he still uses the lingo (which both Oliver and I have adopted) but he's not just a soldier and he's not just focused on getting justice for his brother. If John was the same soldier he was he would have stayed with ARGUS and all their shiny happy computers which I still desperately want. He didn't though – he came back to us.

Actually we have all left but then returned. I was just glad that this time I didn't need to jump out of an airplane for us to find Oliver. I still can't believe he had a second location that we didn't even know about because he never told us. I could have set it up as a duplicate lair so we would be ready if the lair was compromised which considering how many people have found a way in recently it might be time to move to that second location. Laurel even knows who he is, where we work…but Laurel is another issue, back to that second location thingy.

It was such a shock as while I don't know about Oliver's past I know Oliver now…and I just didn't see when he could have spent any time there. Before all hell broke loose with Slade we spent our days at QC and our nights at the lair. After we lost QC we spent all of our time at the lair. I rarely even spent nights at my own place anymore especially after John camped out there. It was just easier to crash at the lair with that whole safety in numbers thing. Unless Oliver has a secret time machine hidden at that second location I don't think he's had time to go there. I mentioned that to John and he just smiled and told me the second location was part of Oliver's past.

Unfortunately, that meant I didn't get to ask questions as we really don't talk about our pasts. I haven't really spoken about my past any more than they have - people who live in glass houses shouldn't cast stones and all that. I've only blurted out a little myself under extreme duress when I thought Oliver could leave me for good. I didn't realize that little gem of self-awareness until he came back to the lair with us and I had time to think about why I told him about my mother. I don't understand my reactions to Oliver (beyond the staring at him on the salmon ladder as those reasons are obvious) or what we are to each other. So much remains in the darkness with him and my light (clearly my light is more if a keychain flashlight than the lighthouse I picture in my own head) doesn't do much good. He still keeps me at a distance in some ways and yet in other ways it's like we are two halves of a single whole. I can't explain it, can't put it into words but I find that I count on it – that's why I cried at Moira's funeral, part of me was missing. I refuse to tell John he was right…moving on now.

Back at the lair we were at least all together even if John and I still had to fight Oliver's desire to surrender. I don't think Laurel herself had any impact on Oliver's decision but the intel helped us. After that we were back as Team Arrow. I even got to step further from my usual role and got to play as the interrogator – I really couldn't stop smiling which probably wasn't the best interrogator face so I probably need to work on learning Oliver's angry Arrow scowl. Ok, I admit I was scared before we started but John had my back so it was all good. It was still great to contribute to our Team in a new way and we got to all work as a Team even if Laurel remained nearby.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that."_

That was Oliver's response to Laurel but I know the words were more for me and John. Laurel had asked why he didn't need us safe but, let's be honest, John can take care of himself so she was really just asking about me. I don't think Laurel thinks much of my contributions…in fact, I think she thought I was totally expendable, easily replaceable – she did try to take my job as EA to Oliver earlier but I digress.

_"It started with the three of us and it's time to get back to that."_

We do leave a lot unsaid so he surprised me with that one. John and I understood his words though. Laurel's opinion or interpretation is irrelevant because it's the three of us that are partners. Our roles may change, we may change but we stay together. It doesn't matter if we usually don't use words because the bonds are still there. We are part of one another, we are family.

It is the three of us who make the Arrow. It's all or nothing now - us versus Slade.


End file.
